


A Beautiful Sunrise

by ThatAloneOne



Series: I Won't Give Up On Us [1]
Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Carmilla as Padmé, F/F, Fluff, Force-Sensitive Carmilla, JEDI AU, Laura as Anakin, Meet-Cute, Star Wars AU, The Dean as Palpatine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2016-10-27
Packaged: 2018-08-27 06:04:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8390014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatAloneOne/pseuds/ThatAloneOne
Summary: Jedi Knight Laura Hollis meets Senator Carmilla Karnstein. It goes about as well as expected.  “Who the hell do you think you are?” Laura said, and it would have been threatening if she wasn’t so… cute. Maybe Mother had a point about Carmilla’s problem. It wasn’t her fault that she kept running into such beautiful women. Politics was supposed to be stodgy, and so far, it had failed to live up to that. Carmilla rolled her eyes. “I’m your new assignment, sweetheart. What are you doing in my rooms?"





	

**Author's Note:**

> This a prequel to Even The Stars, They Burn, but you don't need to have read it to read this! Title (and series title) from I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz.

Carmilla let herself into her apartments after a long night only to find the main room occupied. 

 The minuscule Jedi spun on her, lightsaber flashing to life. Carmilla stared at it, unimpressed. The Jedi scowled — Laura, Carmilla vaguely remembered. Mother seemed to think her life was at risk, and what better bodyguard than a Jedi? Nothing to let her be _distracted_. 

“Who the hell do you think you are?” Laura said, and it would have been threatening if she wasn’t so… cute. Maybe Mother had a point about Carmilla’s _problem_. It wasn’t her fault that she kept running into such beautiful women. Politics was supposed to be stodgy, and so far, it had failed to live up to that. 

Carmilla rolled her eyes. “I’m your new assignment, sweetheart. What are you doing in my rooms?"

The horror was real and immediate. Laura snapped off her lightsaber and started sputtering apologies, which was a shame. Carmilla had liked her spirit. Everyone was long since dead inside in the Senate. Funny how a monk would have more emotion than democracy. 

“It’s fine,” Carmilla said eventually, when the tiny Knight had run out of ways to grovel. “You don’t need to be a virtuous contemplative Padawan all hours of the day. Let loose a little.”

Laura’s jaw dropped. Carmilla wanted to grin. Maybe she’d been wrong about protesting this protective action. This was going to be _fun_. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be. Take a minute to breathe, cupcake. It looks like you need it.” 

The sputtering followed Carmilla out of the room, and for the first time in a long while, she smiled. 

 

* * *

 

The official introduction was every bit as boring as Carmilla had dreaded. The two Knights showed up, the redhead one towering over her recently graduated apprentice. Laura had managed to not combust out of embarrassment, but it looked close. 

“And this is Jedi Knight Laura Hollis,” Danny concluded, after an astonishingly boring speech Carmilla completely ignored. “She’ll be the one protecting you. I have to attend to a mission. Top secret, you understand.”

Carmilla did understand. Her mother had already told her that Lawrence was assigned to an uprising in a cluster of planets that was considering going over to the Separatists. Carmilla didn’t have a lot of faith in the ginger giant being able to sway them. Instead, she turned her gaze to the much smaller Jedi.  

Laura flushed brighter than Carmilla’s velvet dress, and didn’t meet her eyes. “Hi. Um. It’s nice to meet you?”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Carmilla drawled, not making a secret of her perusal. Laura, if possible, went a brighter red. “So, you’re the one that’s been assigned to my dead end? I hope you like paperwork, cutie. That’s all that’s going to be happening here.”

“Yes, well, Senator,” Lawrence said, clearly done with this, “I’ll leave you to it. Laura, remember not to…”

Laura inclined her head, the rest of the sentence hanging in the air. Clearly, this was something they’d already long discussed. “Yes, Danny. Have a good trip!”

The redheaded Jedi only snorted before bowing herself out of the room with one last worried look at her ex-padawan. 

Carmilla turned her attention fully on Laura, who was standing so awkwardly Carmilla was afraid she might spontaneously combust. She didn’t look like she knew what to do with her arms. “Let’s just get one thing clear, pint size. You’re just here for show. I don’t need protection. I’m a Senator, not an incompetent.”

Laura crossed her arms, looking glad to have something to do with them. Carmilla tried very hard not to look at her chest. “In my experience, they’ve all been the same.”

Carmilla winked. That would have to change, wouldn’t it? As much as Laura was amusing, she’d get in the way if she insisted with staying with Carmilla day in and day out. “I’ve got a lot of skills, cutie. Maybe I’ll show you sometime."

“Why are you doing this? All the,” and Laura waved around her hands, “busting in there all eyeliner and leather pants and oh-so-cooler-than-thou. Why do you even own leather pants?”

“Just because you’re stuck in one outfit doesn’t mean the rest of us have to follow your path, creampuff. Variety’ll do a girl good.” 

It was certainly doing Laura good, if her obviously pounding heart was anything to judge by. 

“That bunched up face you make when you’re mad is hilarious, buttercup.” Laura only scowled harder. “That’s what I thought. Now, I have to prepare my notes for tomorrow so I’d appreciate if you’d give me some space.”

 

 

Laura ducked into a little bow, looking like it was painful, and left her. Carmilla watched the door she’d walked through, twirling a pen through her fingers. Oh, this was going to be entertaining. 

 

* * *

 

Carmilla had to give it to the Jedi — she was a lot more patient than Carmilla had dreamed. They went weeks without more than a cursory argument. Laura was doing her very best to be a silent, stoic Jedi. Carmilla could see how much effort it took. She’d twitch to offer a comment when Carmilla teased her in public, but subside just in time. 

Carmilla liked a challenge. 

Laura’s breaking point was late at night, when she caught Carmilla about to sneak out the doors. It was inconvenient of her — Maman had been demanding today. She wanted to know why Carmilla had been working at cross purposes with her, and her stuttered explanations of not wanting to appear biased to the Senate wasn’t getting her far. 

Carmilla wanted to disentangle herself from Lilita’s operations — she couldn’t stand for the kidnappings, the threats, the extortion, not after joining the Senate. Many were corrupt, but so many more were trying to make a difference. Even Laura was trying to make a difference, protecting Carmilla from her own brother because he didn’t like the path Carmilla was laying for herself. He always had been an asshole. 

Carmilla leant up against the door, cursing. When she turned to Laura though, any sign of her distress was erased from her face. “I can protect myself, cutie. It’s the centre of Coruscant, what’s going to go wrong?"

Laura, bereft of her Jedi robes for once, crossed her arms. She looked even tinier in sleep clothes, though her lightsaber was still attached to her hip. “You think you can protect yourself just as well as I can?”

“I know that.”

“Then show me.”  

“What?”

 

Laura walked to Carmilla’s disused fireplace and hoisted out her poker, bearing the weight of the cold iron with ease. 

Carmilla shrugged. If this naive little Jedi that had spent her life eating cookies and kicking back by the fountains at the Temple thought she was better than Carmilla, then so be it. She would have farther to fall. “Deal.” 

Laura’s face was priceless when Carmilla mimicked her movements easily, even with the weight of the poker. She hadn’t exactly been clocking in the hours of exercise, but muscle memory was hard to break. 

Carmilla was sweating hard when they glided to the end of the first form, whereas Laura didn’t seem like she’d done anything. She lowered her lightsaber to her side, the room much darker without the incandescent blue light. “So, either you’re a _really_  quick learner or you’ve done that before.” 

Carmilla let the poker fall to the floor with a muffled clang, the carpet sucking up most of the noise. Her arms burned. Maybe she should’ve kept up the practice, even if it seemed ridiculous. Carmilla would never be a Jedi. “I’m going to attribute that to the mysterious aura I’ve got going.”

“Carm!”

“What? I’m a Senator. My _job_  is keeping secrets.”

Laura pouted, and Carmilla _felt_  her resolve crack. “Really? Even from me? I thought I was your best friend.”

That was a bit of stretch for the amount of time they’d spent talking to each other. Then again, Carmilla couldn’t remember the last time she’d talked this much with anyone. Maybe Laura was right. 

Carmilla sighed heavily. Instead of speaking, she reached out with disused senses and _tugged_. Not at anything in particular, just a yank at the fabric of the Force. She could feel it swirl above Laura’s head. 

“Did you- was that-“

Carmilla nodded. She crossed her arms, not knowing quite what to do with her body. Maman had always forbidden her from sharing it with anyone, especially the Jedi. “I came in just under the line. Don’t worry, I’m not dangerous.”

“Dangerous? Carm, this is fantastic.”

“What?” _That_  wasn’t what she had expected. Laura was fully within her rights to haul her into the Temple for processing — nobody was a fan of feral force users, especially not ones in power. Carmilla hadn’t thought Laura would stoop to that level, but excitement? 

Laura was practically bouncing. “I’ve always wanted a friend to use the Force with! I can’t at the Temple, it’s against the code.” Laura pulled a face, and Carmilla had to hide a smile at how ridiculous she looked. “Not in a big way! But they don’t like us using the Force for ‘frivolous reasons’.”

Carmilla stared. “What counts as frivolous?”

Another face, this one more extreme. “I got in trouble a lot as a Padawan for floating my cookies over to me.”

This time, Carmilla couldn’t stop her smile. “Cookies, huh? I’ve changed my mind, maybe the Jedi code is right about something. Hovering cookies is one step too far.”

 Laura let out a peal of laughter. The awkward weeks melted away, and for once Carmilla didn’t feel like there was a set of expectations to live up to. It was… nice. “That’s what Danny said!”

“Not to change my mind again, but…”

Laura snorted, then grew more serious. “But there is one thing I wanted to try. Telepathy isn’t a huge thing among Force users but?” Laura’s voice went small. “I have it? And maybe you did too? So we could… It’s just thoughts! Not like, emotions, or minds, or anything. Just a way of talking. That’s what I’ve heard, at least.”

Carmilla ignored the dread pooling in the pit of her stomach. She desperately didn’t want to lose this moment — it had been so long since she’d had a real human connection. “Try it? Sure."

Laura beamed, and closed her eyes. Carmilla only felt the gentle press of Laura’s mind for a half second, warm and broad and bright, sparking with incoherent words and ideas, before she was involuntarily recoiling, walls slamming down into place. Half-remembered instructions screamed, _intruder, intruder._

Laura went stumbling back, her eyes wide, hands up. Carmilla winced. Her mind bristled, all the spikes she’d thought she’d taken down growing back into place. “I’m sorry it-“

“You don’t have to explain it to me! It’s fine!”

Carmilla stared at the wall behind Laura, something inside her shaking. She could feel Laura’s concerned gaze, which wasn’t anything she wanted. “Look, cupcake, I have some things to do. Senate stuff."

Laura sighed, all her enthusiasm of earlier gone. In her sleep clothes, her hand still hovering near her lightsaber, she looked unnervingly both like a child and a warrior. “Okay.” A pause. “But you _will_ call me if you need me, right?” 

That had never been a question, not for weeks and weeks. Carmilla nodded, stiffly. “Yeah.”

“Okay,” Laura said, and then she left, soft and silent. Carmilla sank to the carpet in a pool of her dress. She wanted badly to call Laura back, but she didn’t. 

She would make it up to her, though. Carmilla had always wanted a friend. Maybe, just maybe, this would be her chance. Laura was a spitfire, a perfect math for Carmilla’s cold waters.  

Tomorrow. Tomorrow, she would try. 

**Author's Note:**

> This has been a long time coming. I've been working on this since October 9th. That's like, two and a half weeks or something. It feels like longer. Thanks so much to @LMoriarty for reading this through for me and being appropriately enraged by my out-of-context teasers. I'll be posting an 8K fic in this universe soon, stay tuned!
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at writerproblem193.tumblr.com where this AU has consumed my soul.


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